Table 2.
Unadjusted Odds of Carrying and Lifting (CL) for Farmers and Spouses in the Agricultural Health Study, 1993–1997, Farm Activitiesa
| Farmers (n=21,295) | Spouses (n=30,591) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Farm Activitiesb | n(%) | Odds of CL ≥ 1 hr per day | 95% CI | n(%) | Odds of CL ≥ 1 hr per day | 95% CI |
| Apply chemical fertilizerc,d | 7835 (38) | 1.79 | 1.69–1.90 | 3420 (11) | 2.25 | 2.09–2.43 |
| Apply natural fertilizerc,d | 8391 (41) | 1.89 | 1.79–2.01 | 3527 (12) | 3.22 | 3.00–3.46 |
| Drive combinesc,d | 12506 (60) | 1.59 | 1.50–1.68 | 3244 (11) | 3.06 | 2.84–3.30 |
| Drive diesel tractorse,f | 18057 (86) | 2.44 | 2.25–2.65 | 9590 (32) | 3.87 | 3.66–4.08 |
| Drive gasoline tractorse,f | 9743 (47) | 1.53 | 1.45–1.62 | 7459 (25) | 3.28 | 3.10–3.47 |
| Drive truckse,f | 10293 (50) | 1.55 | 1.46–1.64 | 11435 (38) | 2.77 | 2.62–2.92 |
| Grind animal feede,f,g | 4934 (31) | 1.89 | 1.76–2.02 | 1549 (5) | 5.84 | 5.24–6.50 |
| Grind metale,f | 4252 (20) | 1.51 | 1.40–1.62 | 354 (1) | 6.64 | 5.29–8.33 |
| Hand pick cropsc,d | 2611 (13) | 1.44 | 1.32–1.57 | 7772 (26) | 1.88 | 1.78–1.99 |
| Milk cowse,f | 1039 (5) | 2.58 | 2.22–2.99 | 816 (3) | 3.83 | 3.35–4.39 |
| Painte,f | 328 (2) | 1.80 | 1.41–2.28 | 9051 (30) | 2.15 | 2.03–2.26 |
| Plantc,d | 13725 (66) | 1.77 | 1.67–1.88 | 7346 (24) | 2.20 | 2.08–2.33 |
| Repair enginese,f | 1320 (6) | 2.02 | 1.78–2.29 | 387 (1) | 6.99 | 5.61–8.71 |
| Till the soilc,d | 14639 (70) | 1.81 | 1.71–1.93 | 7285 (24) | 3.38 | 3.20–3.58 |
| Welde,f | 4295 (21) | 1.55 | 1.45–1.67 | 291 (1) | 5.27 | 4.14–6.71 |
| Work in the fieldsc,h | --- | -------- | ------ | 15541 (51) | 4.42 | 4.17–4.69 |
| Acres Planted in the Past Yearg | ||||||
| 0 | 620 (3) | 0.40 | 0.33–0.47 | 843 (3) | 0.57 | 0.47–0.69 |
| 1–199 | 6233 (32) | 1.00 | Referent | 8106 (29) | 1.00 | Referent |
| ≥ 200 | 12693 (65) | 1.11 | 1.05–1.19 | 19182 (68) | 1.07 | 1.01–1.14 |
Notes: “–” indicates variables that were not included in the model. “CI” is Confidence Interval
The referent for each activity is “not” doing the activity
For farm activities, missing observations ranged from 0–4% depending on the variable
Farmers-performed more than 5 days in the growing season
Spouse-farm activities performed in last growing season
Farmers-farm activities performed more than once per week
Spouses-farm activities performed at least once a month
Missing observations greater than 4% of the sample: Acres Planted in the Past Year (missing=1750, 8% of sample) and grind animal feed (missing=5137, 24% of sample)
The amount of time working in the fields was not asked for farmers